Friday, September 26, 2014

MIXED BAG. PRESENTS LOOT CRATE SEP 2014: "GALACTIC" REVIEW!

This last weekend has been an awesome windfall of various things I've been saving up for or waiting for in the mail. In anticipation of the upcoming Super Smash Bros for 3DS, I went ahead and upgraded to the new Smash Bros 3DS XL. Also, as pictured at the head of the article, I got my Rammus hat in the mail all the way from Nanjing, China. Oh, and then, I got my September Loot Crate!

Loot Crate
is a subscription based service where members pay a fee (based on their
subscription plan) to receive a themed mystery box every month in the
mail (last month's theme, pictured above, was "Villains") filled with
nerdy products from companies like Nintendo, DC, Marvel, Capcom and much
more. The contents of the box usually contain things like exclusive
figures, a t-shirt, a magnet, pin/s, posters, comics, books, toys, and
pretty much everything you can think of from "dragon-flavored" Jerky in
April's "Dragon" Loot Crate to Deadpool socks (pictured above).

This is the perfect surprise for self-professed nerds that love cool stuff and weird stuff alike.

If
you're lucky, you might even be the lucky member to get the monthly
Mega Crate which always has a value of $750 or more!

So, without much more ado except for my own verbosity, let's see what we got in this month's crate.

In this review, I'll talk about every item, try and value it, rate it, and conclude with some random thoughts.

"POP GOES THE BOX!"

The seal is broken and inside all manner of galactic

The first and strangest Loot Crate exclusive item is something that I didn't expect to find in the box this month. When I saw it would have a Star Trek item, I assumed that we'd be getting a mini-fig or maybe some Spock ears but, instead and much to my amusement, the item is an Loot Crate exclusive orange breed of Polygeminus Grex, the fuzziest enemy of the Klingon Empire and, most famously, the troublesome "TRIBBLE!"

This Tribble Plush comes in a specially designed container with tips to help prevent the new owner from being overrun by these creatures that a) eat everything and b) breed faster than you can say "QAPLA'!"

This is a cool collectible and I think any fan of Star Trek would be glad to add this monster to their menagerie.

VALUE: $10+RATING: 5/5. I dunno why but, at least in my book, this was the coolest item in the box for my needs.

With the knowledge that we'd be getting something from the Alien franchise being revealed in a clue, I figured one of the figures would be a xenomorph. I wasn't sure what sorta figure it would turn out to be, so I'm happy to see that it is from Funko's amazingly cool ReAction line.

The ReAction Line of figures are 3 3/4 inch figures, like the classic Star Wars line, and the Alien figures are actually remolds of long lost figures!

I was glad I got the xenomorph over the other possible figures from the line and I was too stoked to give my friend the figure as a gift.

VALUE: $10RATING: 4/5. This is a perfect figure for posing with Star Wars figures for a crossover!

RANDOM THOUGHTS: They just started selling Funko figures, including ReAction figures, at my workplace. They even have Goonies figures!

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the biggest Firefly fan but I enjoyed the film and several episodes of the show.

The first of the two items is a Funko Science Fiction blind box mini exclusive of Captain Malcolm Reynolds. The figure is in a rather stylized shape that, unfortunately, makes it difficult to recognize as Nathan Fillion's signature character. Ultimately, this is probably something I'll give away or sell to a bigger fan of the series.

VALUE: $10
RATING: 3/5. I'm a tad disappointed it wasn't just a random blind box because it would've been cool to get one of the more interesting figures.

RANDOM THOUGHTS: Nathan Fillion is the man.

On the flipside? 2,400 Alliance scrip from the Bank Heist episode of Firefly is a surprisingly neat display item for any geek's den. I'm tempted to get a little frame and hang this on my wall if I ever get around to hanging all the stuff I've got to hang...

The code for first three issues of Dark Horse's Halo: Escalation is a fun addition with a value of about $6. 4/5.

This month's magnet is a nifty little Asteroid screen except with the Millennium Falcon hiding from Empire ships. 3/5.

Pop Rocks. I had at least thirty minutes of entertainment eating these while playing D & D. 4/5.

And, lastly, some coupons for some nifty gear is a welcome addition, I suppose. 3/5.

This month the magazine accompanying came with appropriate characters
from the five represented franchises staring at a Loot Crate galaxy
(fun) and the inside of the Loot Crate was designed to resemble
Serenity's hangar from Firefly with R2D2 hiding under the stairs. 3/5.

MISC RATING? 4/5. Much better than last month, actually thanks to there being no stinkers and Pop Rocks.

TOTAL LOOT VALUE?

Approx. $56+

FINAL CRATE SCORE?

4/5.

This month's Loot Crate was cool but nothing really blew me away like the Funko Groot and Kidrobot Michelangelo figures from last month.

The Tribble is honestly my favorite item in the box and is already proudly displayed on my desk as a way to test the nerd cred of anyone who looks upon it. If a friend looks at it and says "Is that a tribble?" then they are allowed, nay, encouraged to pet the tribble.

The other two figures were not really my thing but still good; the Alien figure of the xenomorph made a perfect gift for my best friend but I would've kept it if I hadn't thought he'd appreciate it much more. As for the Malcolm Reynolds figure, even my mother who is a big Firefly fan didn't recognize that it was supposed to be the character. I blame this on the fact that the character doesn't really have any iconic symbols or gear that would immediately identify him, but it still doesn't change it from being a fine mini.

Yet, bank notes from Firefly were definitely a cool surprise that boosted the value for me.

As for the rest, I'm not sure I'll use any of the items outside of the magnet, the button, and the Pop Rocks.

Pop Rocks are awesome.

If you're interested in trying Loot Crate, please make sure to use this link to help me out with a referral. Thank you.

P.S. I really want to buy a Guardians of the Galaxy bluray and put it on repeat in my house somewhere.